Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Some Israeli officials wary ahead of Trump trip
Ally prepares for unusual diplomatic style, untested staff.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s erratic style and thirst for what he has called “the ultimate deal” have some Israeli officials anxious about how much he might give away if he can restart long-stalled peace talks with Palestinians.
As they await his arrival Monday in Jerusalem, Israeli officials are trying to attune themselves to Trump’s free-wheeling approach to diplomacy and a new cast of unlikely, untested advisers, including Trump’s son-in-law and two of Trump’s long-time personal attorneys.
They worry in part because since taking office, Trump has hesitated on his campaign pledge to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. White House officials fear such a relocation would infuriate Palestinians, who also claim the city as their capital.
Trump’s visit comes a week before he must sign the same national security waiver that his predecessors have signed every six months since 1995 to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv.
Newly-arrived U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, Trump’s former bankruptcy lawyer, scrambled last week to reassure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that Trump remains as firmly committed to Israel as ever.
But Friedman told the Israelis that Trump isn’t expected to announce a decision about the move during the trip.
The delay has frustrated right-wing politicians in Israel who fear Trump may back down on other promises.
In February, Trump issued mild criticism of Israel’s continued building of settlements in the West Bank, saying that new construction doesn’t help the peace process. The rebuke surprised Netanyahu’s government, which had just announced plans to build thousands of new homes in the disputed territory.
Earlier this month, Israeli officials needed reassurance as well when Trump welcomed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for a lunch at the White House and posed with him in front of a Palestinian flag, a symbolic concession to Abbas that White House officials hoped would help foster a good working relationship.
Trump is expected to visit Abbas in Bethlehem on Tuesday, even though some in the Israeli government had hoped Trump would snub the Palestinian leader during the trip.
“The uncertainty is very high,” said a former Israeli diplomat who was stationed in the United States.
It also didn’t help when Trump last week shared classified material about Islamic State militants with Russian diplomats. The information reportedly originated with Israeli intelligence and was shared with the U.S. on the condition that it not be passed along to others, according to media reports.
Israeli officials know little of the intentions of Trump’s advisers. Even Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has been managing the White House’s relationship with Israel over the past few months, has generated some skepticism among hard-liners, despite the fact the he is Jewish, he has known Netanyahu for many years and his family has helped fund Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Kushner also manages the White House relationship with the Arab world.
In addition to sending Friedman to Tel Aviv, Trump tapped his former real estate attorney Jason Greenblatt to help manage the peace process with the Palestinians. He regularly hears advice on Israel from friends including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who is close to Netanyahu.
Israeli officials are having to adjust to Trump and these new advisers after years spent dealing with a familiar set of Washington diplomats and Middle East experts, said Michael Oren, the Israeli deputy minister for diplomacy and a former ambassador to the U.S..
Oren brushed aside the notion there have been hiccups and said the Israelis are confident in Trump’s ardent support.
“This is an administration which is unequivocally committed to Israel’s security, sees it as an indispensable ally and is deeply opposed to doing anything that would impair our security,” Oren said.
But they will closely watch the signals Trump sends during his two-day visit, which will include a tour of the Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem, a speech at the Israel Museum, and the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to the Western Wall.
In private meetings during Trump’s visit, Israeli officials are looking for assurances that Trump will work with them to counter Iran’s moves in the region. The U.S. Treasury Department’s decision Thursday to put new sanctions on seven targets involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program was aimed at soothing concerns in Israel as well as signaling to Saudi Arabia that the U.S. would take a hard stance against Iranian intervention in Yemen.